Targeted advertising and customized display of advertisements in satellite broadcasting

ABSTRACT

Selecting a content filler from a plurality of content fillers in a satellite broadcast comprises receiving a content in a first broadcast frequency channel, and a plurality of content fillers in a respective plurality of second broadcast frequency channels, wherein the content includes a gap in content to be filled by one of the plurality of content fillers, the gap in content defined by a start indicator and an end indicator. The receiver transmits the content to a display device. The receiver determines a second broadcast frequency channel, from among the plurality of second broadcast frequency channels and responsive to receiving the start indicator, switches to the determined second broadcast frequency channel, transmits the content filler in the determined second broadcast frequency channel to the display device. Responsive to receiving the end indicator, the receiver switches to the first broadcast frequency channel and transmits the content to the display device.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present application is a continuation of and claims priority under35 U.S.C §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/271,488, filed onMay 7, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to media and entertainment, andmore particularly, to targeted advertising and customized display ofadvertisements in satellite broadcasting.

The cost of producing and distributing television program content hastraditionally been covered by selling advertising space at designatedpoints in the distributed program. Over the years, advertisers havelooked for ways to more closely target their advertising to the viewersanticipated to be watching at the time the advertisements are shown. Forexample, advertisers might purchase advertising space during aparticular program often viewed by large numbers of their targetaudience, such as snack food advertisements during sporting events. Inaddition, television advertisers look for alternate ways to advertisebeyond the designated advertising points in program content, such asplacing products in the actual program content. Today, advertisers areexamining new ways of reaching their target audiences as broadcastersattempt to deliver more relevant and interactive advertisements to theirsubscribers.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method for selecting acontent filler from a plurality of content fillers in a satellitebroadcast. The method comprises the receiver receiving a content in afirst broadcast frequency channel, and a plurality of content fillers ina respective plurality of second broadcast frequency channels, whereinthe content includes a gap in content to be filled by one of theplurality of content fillers, the gap in content defined by a startindicator and an end indicator. The receiver transmits the content to adisplay device. The receiver determines a second broadcast frequencychannel, from among the plurality of second broadcast frequency channelsand responsive to the receiver receiving the start indicator, thereceiver switches to the determined second broadcast frequency channel,transmits the content filler in the determined second broadcastfrequency channel to the display device. Responsive to the receiverreceiving the end indicator, the receiver switches to the firstbroadcast frequency channel and transmits the content to the displaydevice.

In another aspect, the content received, by the receiver, includes thecontent and a plurality of display fillers in the first broadcastfrequency channel, wherein the content and the plurality of displayfillers are received concurrently in the first broadcast frequencychannel. Based on characteristics of the display device, selecting, bythe receiver, a display layout from a plurality of display layouts,wherein the display layout defines a location on the display device'sviewing area to display content and one or more display fillers.Selecting, by the receiver, one or more of the plurality of displayfillers and transmitting, by the receiver, the content and the one ormore selected display fillers, in the selected display layout, to thedisplay device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description of illustrative embodimentsthereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. The various features of the drawings are not to scale as theillustrations are for clarity in facilitating one skilled in the art inunderstanding the invention in conjunction with the detaileddescription. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of a satellite broadcastsystem, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary broadcast of programcontent, broadcast concurrently with a plurality of targetedadvertisements, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a satellitereceiver's selector, selecting targeted advertisements, in accordancewith an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary broadcast of programcontent, customized viewing area advertisements and resulting display,in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a satellitereceiver's selector, selecting templates and customized viewing areaadvertisements, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of components of the satellite receiverin a satellite broadcast system, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Satellite broadcast television is one of the largest mediums ofadvertising. Even with the advent of the Internet and mobile television,satellite broadcast television continues to supply program content to alarge viewing audience. With this large audience, advertisers areconstantly striving to make their advertisements reach the rightaudience to maximize their return on investment. Broadcast programcontent and advertisements may be sent to all satellite receivers in abroadcast area, and all viewers of the same program content may see thesame advertisements. The size of the audience for specific televisionprogram content, as measured by companies such as Nielsen MediaResearch, is often used as a metric for television advertisementplacement, and consequently, for the rates charged to advertisers to airtheir advertisements. The size of the audience may vary for eachnetwork, program content, and time of day. Currently, program providersmay define the number and location of advertising insertion points, orgaps, in a program's content. Program providers may set indicators inthe program content to define the start and end of the gaps in content.

To further optimize return on investment, advertisers may entreatsatellite broadcasters to broadcast a plurality of advertisements,concurrently, each targeted to a different viewing audience demographic.Various embodiments of the present disclosure may enable individualsatellite receivers to select, in real-time, content filler, oradvertisements, from among the plurality of advertisements concurrentlybroadcast, to insert into the program content at the defined insertionpoint. This may allow broadcasters to decide which advertisements tobroadcast at any point prior to actual broadcast, and may allow viewersto see advertisements selected, or targeted, for them, which may differfrom advertisements seen by other viewing audiences of the same programcontent.

Typically targeted advertising matches advertising criteria withaudience qualifiers. Audience qualifiers may include, but are notlimited to, the demographics and viewing behavior of the audience. Thedemographic of the audience at any particular satellite receiver may bedetermined through, but not limited to, publicly available surveys,subscriber information gathered at the time of subscription purchase,purchase transactions made through a broadcast service, and location.Viewing behavior may be determined by, for example, set top boxes withGlobal System for Mobile (GSM) Communications chips or smart phone basedremote control applications.

Inserting targeted advertisements only at predefined insertion pointsmay not fully address the needs of advertisers, as viewers may utilizeadvertisement insertion points in the program content to perform othertasks that take them away from television viewing. Displayingadvertisements on the television during program content may help ensureadvertisements are seen, even when advertisement insertion points areskipped, fast-forwarded through, or walked away from.

Advertisements that display on the television during program content arebecoming more common and are typically displayed as an overlay at thebottom or top of the television screen. These advertisement overlays mayblock out some of the program content viewing area. Advertisementoverlays, displayed much like severe weather warnings, may overlay 5 to10 percent of the television's program content viewing area. In theextreme, an advertisement overlay may overlay as much as 25 percent ofthe program content viewing area. Subtitles, which may be part of theprogram content, may be completely obscured by the overlays. Variousembodiments of the present disclosure may customize the televisionviewing area to enable the concurrent display of display fillers, oradvertisements, and program content without overlaying the programcontent viewing area with the advertisements. Various embodiments maycustomize the viewing area based on the television characteristics suchas screen dimensions. The viewing area customization may include, but isnot limited to, advertisement display locations, advertisement sizes,and number of advertisements that may be displayed concurrently. Incertain embodiments, the advertisements displayed concurrently withprogram content may be targeted advertisements for the viewing audienceof the particular satellite receiver.

Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are described in a satellitebroadcast system, broadcasting to a television, although those of skillin the art will appreciate that other embodiments of the invention maybe used to advantage for numerous program content delivery systems withnumerous receiving devices where advertising covers the cost ofproducing program content.

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an exemplary satellitebroadcast system 199, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. Satellite broadcast system 199 includes satellitebroadcaster 130, satellite 135, satellite receiver 122, televisions140A, 140B and their set-top boxes 150A, 150B, and remote controldevices 145A, 145B that send signals to their respective televisions140A, 140B and set-top boxes 150A, 150B.

Satellite receiver 122 includes a selector 100, storage for a receiverprofile 120, and storage for a plurality of templates 110A, 110B, 110C,110D, all of which may be stored, for example, on a readable storagemedium, such as satellite receiver readable storage medium (media) 650(FIG. 6).

Satellite broadcaster 130 may collect demographic information for theviewing audience of a satellite receiver 122 in its satellite broadcastsystem 199. The demographic information may include publicly availablesurvey information, information gathered with the subscription purchase,and viewing behavior collected through GSM chips in the set-top boxes150 and remote control 145 applications. The broadcaster 130 may keepdemographic information static for the life of a subscription, updatedemographic information when a subscription is renewed, or updatedemographic information regularly to reflect changing viewing habits orother demographics collected. The demographics of the viewing audienceof satellite receiver 122 may be generalized to reflect all viewingaudiences of satellite receiver 122 or may vary to reflect differentviewing audiences at different times of the day or different days of theweek. For example, a younger audience may be the viewing audience in theearly afternoon, as determined by cartoon viewing selections in thattime period.

Satellite broadcaster 130 may include a transmitter or other equipmentoperable to transmit a plurality of frequency channels having datarepresenting audio content, visual content, display templates 110 orselection signals. The plurality of frequency channels may be receivedat a satellite 135, which in turn rebroadcasts the plurality offrequency channels to be received at one or more terrestrial satellitereceivers 122. Satellite broadcaster 130 may establish a plurality offrequency channels that include advertisements. Each frequency channelmay target advertisements to a particular viewing audience demographic.Satellite broadcaster 130 may pre-determine the frequency channel to bemonitored by selector 100 or may signal selector 100, through satellite135, which frequency channel to monitor when selecting advertisementstargeted to display on television 140A, 140B during an advertisementinsertion point. Selector 100 may receive the signal from satellitebroadcaster 130, with the frequency channel to monitor, when thesatellite receiver 122 is first established, during every programcontent broadcast, or any interval in-between. Selector 100 may storethe frequency channel to monitor in the receiver profile 120.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram depicting an exemplarybroadcast of program content 210, broadcast concurrently with aplurality of targeted advertisements 230, 231, in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. Satellite broadcaster 130 may broadcastmultiple frequency channels 220, 221A, 221B, 221C concurrently, throughsatellite 135, to satellite receiver 122. Program content segments 210A,210B, 210C may be broadcast on a program content frequency channel 220,while targeted advertisements 230A, 230B, 230C, 231A, 231B, 231C may bebroadcast on advertisement frequency channels 221A, 221B, 221C, eachtargeted to a different viewing audience demographic. The programsegments 210A, 210B, 210C may be separated by advertisement insertionpoints 240A, 240B, where the program content 210 owner has determinedadvertisements 230, 231 may be inserted. Satellite broadcaster 130 maybroadcast a default advertisement in the program content frequencychannel 220, during the advertisement insertion points 240, in the eventthat no targeted advertisements 230, 231 are available.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a satellitereceiver's 122 selector 100, selecting targeted advertisements, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In various embodimentsof the disclosure, selector 100 may have previously received a signalfrom broadcaster 130 with an advertisement frequency channel 221A, 221B,221C to monitor for targeted advertisements based on the viewing habitsand demographics associated with the viewing audience of the satellitereceiver 122. The signaled advertisement frequency channel 221A, 221B,221C may be saved in the receiver profile 120. Satellite receiverselector 100 may receive a broadcast, at 310, from broadcaster 130 whichincludes program content 210 on a program content frequency channel 220and a plurality of targeted advertisements 230, 231 on advertisementfrequency channels 221. During the program content segments, 210A, 210B,210C, selector 100 may, at 320, transmit the program content 210 to thetelevisions 140 connected to the satellite receiver 122 that are tunedin to that program channel. At 325, selector 100 recognizes whether ornot an advertisement insertion point 240A, 240B in the program content210 has been reached. If an advertisement insertion point 240A, 240B hasnot been reached, program content 210 may continue to be sent to thetelevisions 140. If an insertion point has been reached, as determinedat 325, selector 100 may determine, at 327, whether a targetedadvertisement frequency channel 221 has been saved in the receiverprofile 120. In various embodiments, if no advertisement frequencychannel has been saved in the receiver profile 120, as determined at327, selector 100 may, at 330, transmit default advertisements to thetelevisions 140. In certain embodiments, satellite broadcaster 130 maybroadcast default advertisements in the same frequency channel 220 asthe program content 210. In other embodiments, a default targetedadvertisement frequency channel 221A, 221B, 221C may be selected. Adefault targeted advertising frequency channel 221 may be pre-set in thereceiver profile 120 by the broadcaster 130.

If an advertisement frequency channel 221A, 221B, 221C has been saved inthe receiver profile 120, as determined at 327, selector 100 may switch,at 340, from the program content frequency channel 220 to the savedadvertisement frequency channel 221A, 221B, 221C and transmit thetargeted advertisements 230, 231 broadcast in the switched-toadvertisement frequency channel 221A, 221B, 221C, to the televisions140. In various embodiments, the selected targeted advertisements 230,231 may be shown on all televisions 140 displaying advertisements,regardless of program channel selected on each television 140A, 140B.

At the end of the advertisement insertion point 240A, 240B, selector 100may switch back, at 350, to the program content frequency channel 220and continue transmitting program content 210 to the televisions 140.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure, selector 100 may additionally receive multipleadvertisements concurrently with the program content 210 for display onthe televisions 140 connected to the satellite receiver 122 and tuned into that program channel. In various embodiments, receiver profile 120may include television 140A, 140B information, such as the television's140A, 140B viewing area dimensions. In various embodiments, selector 100may receive information about televisions 140 from the set-top boxes 150associated with the televisions 140 and may save the information in thereceiver profile 120.

The set-top box 150A, 150B may be configured for the television 140A,140B manually, such as with a switch, through an application on theremote control 145A, 145B, or through direct communication with thetelevision 140A, 140B. Selector 100 may transmit program content 210with concurrent advertisements to television 140A, 140B through set-topbox 150A, 150B.

In various embodiments, satellite receiver 122 includes a plurality oftemplates 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D that may define how program content 210and concurrent advertisements are to be displayed, hereinafter “displaylayout”, in the television 140A, 140B viewing area. In certainembodiments, selector 100 may receive the plurality of templates 110A,110B, 110C, 110D from satellite broadcaster 130. In other embodiments,the templates 100 may be predefined in the satellite receiver 122. Theplurality of templates 110 may define the display layouts for aplurality of television viewing area dimensions. The display layout mayinclude the locations in the television 140A, 140B viewing area whereprogram content may be displayed, locations where advertisements may bedisplayed, the size of the advertisements displayed, and the number ofconcurrent advertisements to be displayed along with the program content210. The plurality of templates 110 may remain static for the life of abroadcast subscription, or may be updated when a subscription renews, ormay be updated regularly as the satellite broadcaster's 130 advertisingneeds change.

Satellite receiver 122 represents a device, system or environment, andmay be a roof-top receiver, a television set-top box, a laptop computer,a notebook computer, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, atablet computer, a mobile phone or any other electronic device capableof performing the required functionality of embodiments of thedisclosure. Satellite receiver 122 may include hardware components, asdepicted and described in further detail with respect to FIG. 6. Inother various embodiments of the present disclosure, satellite receiver122 may represent a cluster of components acting as a single pool ofseamless resources. In general, satellite receiver 122 is representativeof any device or combination of devices capable of receiving a broadcastsignal and executing in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram depicting an exemplarybroadcast of program content 210, customized viewing area advertisements410A, 410B, 410C, 410D, 410E, and resulting display, in accordance withan embodiment of the disclosure. In the exemplary embodiment, customizedviewing area advertisements 410 and program content 210 may be broadcastas a multiplexed signal in the program content frequency channel 220. Amultiplexed signal may subdivide the capacity of the broadcast programcontent frequency channel 220 allowing for multiple content, such asprogram content 210A and a plurality of customized viewing areaadvertisements 410.

Television 140A illustrates an exemplary display layout in its viewingarea. Program content 210A and concurrent customized viewing areaadvertisements 410A, 410B, 410C, 410D, 410E are displayed. The viewingarea of television 140A is divided into defined areas for the programcontent 210A, and the custom viewing area advertisements 410 based on atemplate 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D that corresponds to the television 140Aviewing area dimensions. The plurality of customized viewing areaadvertisements 410 may co-exist with program content 210A in thetelevision 140A, 140B viewing area without overlaying any programcontent 210A.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a satellitereceiver's 122 selector 100, selecting templates 110 and customizedviewing area advertisements 410, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. In various embodiments of the disclosure, selector 100 mayhave previously received a plurality of templates 110 from broadcaster130 with display layouts for a variety of television 140A, 140B viewingarea dimensions. The templates 110 may, alternately, have been preset inthe satellite receiver 122. Selector 100 may receive a multiplexedbroadcast, at 510, from broadcaster 130, which includes concurrentlybroadcast program content 210 and a plurality of customized viewing areaadvertisements 410 on a program content frequency channel 220.

Selector 100 may de-multiplex, or split, the broadcast to obtain, at520, the customized viewing area advertisements 410 to be displayed inthe television 140A, 140B viewing area along with the program content210. Selector 100 may, at 530, obtain the television 140A, 140B viewingarea dimensions saved in the receiver profile 120 and, at 540, obtainthe template 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D that corresponds to the obtainedtelevision 140A, 140B viewing area dimensions. Selector 100 may, at 550,set the display layout for the program content 210 and customizedviewing area advertisements 410 for television 140A, 140B based on theobtained template 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D.

In certain embodiments, customized viewing area advertisements 410 maybe prioritized. Templates 110 for small televisions 140 may includefewer locations for customized viewing area advertisements 410 than maybe received in the broadcast program frequency channel 220. Selector 100may utilize the priority to determine which customized viewing areaadvertisements 410 to display. Certain embodiments may prioritizecustomized viewing area advertisements 410 by their broadcast frequency.In other embodiments, customized viewing area advertisements 410 mayinclude broadcast header information that indicates the priority of thecustomized viewing area advertisement 410A, 410B, 410C, 410D, 410E.Selector 100 may, at 560, transmit the program content 210 andcustomized viewing area advertisements 410, laid out for display basedon the template 110A, 110B, 110C, 110D, to television 140A, 140B. Invarious embodiments, customized viewing advertisements 410 may bedisplayed concurrently with targeted advertisements 230, 231 displayedduring advertisement insertion points 240 as well as concurrently withprogram content 210.

In certain embodiments all satellite receivers 122 in the satellitebroadcast system 199 select the same customized viewing areaadvertisements 410 broadcast in a program content frequency channel 220.

In various other embodiments, customized viewing area advertisements 410may be targeted to particular viewing audiences. In certain embodiments,satellite broadcaster 130 may signal selector 100 which of themultiplexed signal frequencies or advertisement frequencies 221 toutilize to select targeted customized viewing area advertisements 410,much like targeted advertisements 230 231 are selected for advertisementinsertion points 240. In other embodiments, customized viewing areaadvertisements 410 may include broadcast header information thatindicates a target demographic group for the customized viewing areaadvertisement 410A, 410B, 410C, 410D, 410E. Selector 100 may utilize theheader information to determine if the customized viewing areaadvertisement 410A, 410B, 410C, 410D, 410E is to be selected fordisplay. The frequencies to monitor or target demographic groups toselect may be saved in the receiver profile 120. Again, the values maybe pre-determined by the broadcaster 130 or modified with a broadcastsignal to the satellite receiver 122.

In various embodiments, selector 100 may receive targeted customizedviewing area advertisements 410 in advertisement frequency channels 221.In certain embodiments, selector 100 may switch between the programcontent frequency channel 220 and the advertisement frequency channels221 to periodically obtain targeted customized viewing areaadvertisements 410. In other embodiments, satellite receiver 122 mayhave a plurality of selectors 100, monitoring a plurality of frequencychannels 220, 221A, 221B, 221C, much like picture-in-picture support.The selectors 100 may set the display layout utilizing the programcontent 210 from the program content frequency channel 220 and thetargeted customized viewing area advertisements 410 or targetedadvertisements 230, 231 from the advertisement frequency channels 221for concurrent display on television 140A, 140B viewing area.

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of components of a satellite receiver 122of the satellite broadcast system 199 of FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. It should be appreciated that FIG. 6provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not implyany limitations with regard to the environments in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironment may be made.

Satellite receiver 122 can include one or more tuners 610, one or moredecoders 620, one or more processors 630, one or more selectors 100, andone or more satellite receiver readable storage medium (media) 650, allinterconnected over a communications fabric 626. Communications fabric626 can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing dataand/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors,communications and network processors, etc.), satellite receiver memory,peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a satellitereceiver 122. Tuners 610 may be operable to receive the broadcastfrequency channels 220, 221, templates 110, and signals for targetedadvertisement frequency and priority to monitor. Decoders 620 decode thereceived broadcast and may be programmed to decrypt or decode thesatellite broadcast in accordance with purchases and selections made bya user.

One or more operating systems 628, selectors 100, and receiver profiles120, as well as customized viewer templates 110 and receiver profiledata received from the decoded satellite broadcast are stored on one ormore of the satellite receiver readable storage medium 650 for executionby one or more of the processors 630. Processors 630 may be operable torun executable code in connection with various functions associated withsatellite receiver 122. In the illustrated embodiment, each of thesatellite receiver readable storage medium 650 can be a magnetic diskstorage device of an internal hard drive, CD-ROM, DVD, memory stick,magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, a semiconductor storagedevice such as RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory or any other satellitereceiver readable storage medium that can store a satellite receiverprogram and digital information. The storage medium 650 may be locatedwithin satellite receiver 122 or separately from satellite receiver 122.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Although preferred embodiments have been depicted and described indetail herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant artthat various modifications, additions, substitutions and the like can bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention, and these are,therefore, considered to be within the scope of the invention, asdefined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for selecting a content filler from aplurality of content fillers in a satellite broadcast, the methodcomprising: receiving, by a receiver, a content in a first broadcastfrequency channel, and a plurality of content fillers in a respectiveplurality of second broadcast frequency channels, wherein the contentincludes a gap in content to be filled by one of the plurality ofcontent fillers, the gap in content defined by a start indicator and anend indicator; transmitting, by the receiver, the content to a displaydevice; determining, by the receiver, a second broadcast frequencychannel, from among the plurality of second broadcast frequencychannels; responsive to the receiver receiving the start indicator:switching, by the receiver, to the determined second broadcast frequencychannel; transmitting, by the receiver, the content filler in thedetermined second broadcast frequency channel to the display device; andresponsive to the receiver receiving the end indicator: switching, bythe receiver, to the first broadcast frequency channel; andtransmitting, by the receiver, the content to the display device.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein determining, by the receiver, thesecond broadcast frequency channel, from among the plurality of secondbroadcast frequency channels utilizes a pre-determined frequencychannel.
 3. The method according to claim 1: wherein receiving thecontent further comprises receiving, by the receiver, the content and aplurality of display fillers in the first broadcast frequency channel,wherein the content and the plurality of display fillers are receivedconcurrently in the first broadcast frequency channel; and the methodfurther comprising: based on characteristics of the display device:selecting, by the receiver, a display layout from a plurality of displaylayouts, wherein the display layout defines a location on the displaydevice's viewing area to display content and one or more displayfillers; and selecting, by the receiver, one or more of the plurality ofdisplay fillers; and transmitting, by the receiver, the content and theone or more selected display fillers, in the selected display layout, tothe display device.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein theplurality of display fillers includes control information, the controlinformation including: a display filler priority, and a display fillertarget group.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein selecting, bythe receiver, the one or more of the plurality of display fillers isbased on the display filler priority.
 6. The method according to claim4, wherein selecting, by the receiver, the one or more of the pluralityof display fillers is based on the display filler target group.
 7. Themethod according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of display fillersare received, by the receiver, in a respective plurality of secondbroadcast frequency channels.
 8. The method according to claim 7,wherein selecting, by the receiver, the one or more of the plurality ofdisplay fillers is based on the second broadcast frequency channelselected by the receiver from among the plurality of second broadcastfrequency channels.
 9. The method according to claim 8, whereinselecting, by the receiver, the second broadcast frequency channel, fromamong the plurality of second broadcast frequency channels utilizes apre-determined frequency channel.
 10. The method according to claim 3,wherein the characteristics of the display device include display deviceviewing area dimensions.